Vehicle mounted loader



July 3, 1956 LE GRAND H. LULL 2,75

VEHICLE MOUNTED LOADEIR Filed May 28 1951 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. LE GRAND 164 4044 y 3, 1956 LE GRAND H. LULL 2,753,060

VEHICLE MOUNTED LOADER Filed May 28, 1951 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR L5 GRAND H L 01.4.

ATTORNEYS y 3, 1956 LE GRAND H. u| 2,753,060

VEHICLE MOUNTED LOADER Filed May 28, 1951 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 FIE E INVENTOR LE Gnu/D 29! L044.

ATTORNEYS July 3, 1956 LE GRAND H. LULL VEHICLE MOUNTED LOADER 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed May 28 1951 INVENTOR BY m M ATTORNEYS July 3, 1956 LE GRAND H. LULL. 2,753,060

VEHICLE MOUNTED LOADER 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed May 28 1951 INVENTOR. Le kxwp 6! 41/44 flrromwsys United States Patent VEHICLE MOUNTED LOADER Le Grand H. lLuli, Minneapolis, Minn, assignor, by niesne assignments, to The Baker-Raulang Company, a corporation of Delaware Application May 28, 1951, Serial No. 228,605

4 Claims. (Cl. 214--l40) This invention relates to improvements in loaders of the type mounted upon self-propelled vehicles and used for picking up, loading and dumping materials, for bulldozing, and all analogous purposes, and the primary object of my present invention is to provide a loader of heavy-duty construction for extremely hard work, and useful, for example, in breaking out large loads from frozen and compacted materials.

A loader of the general type here in mind is exemplified by my Patent No. 2,517,582, and my co-pending application, Serial No. 153,723, upon which United States Patent No. 2,653,722 issued September 29, 1.953, which discloses a tilting mechanism for such loaders. In general, the mechanism comprises lift arms which are pivotally mounted at their rear ends to the supporting and operating self-propelled vehicle and which, at their forward ends, carry the bucket or other device for engaging and moving the load. These forward ends of the lift arms are then raised and lowered by means of doubleaction fluid motors or hydraulic rams, and the bucket angle is further controlled by means of a tilting mechanism operated by other fluid motors or rams to swing the bucket in a vertical plane about its pivot connections to the lift arm. Thus it will be seen that there are two distinct and controlled motions given to the bucket to adjust it to any elevation with respect to the vehicle and to tilt the bucket as may be necessary, either to retain a load in place or to dump the load. In accordance with a further important object of my present invention, I provide a heavy-duty type of loader which embodies the actions just described, but adds thereto a third motion by means of which the bucket may be given a forceful forward and upward crowding motion, which is found to be of great assistance in breaking loose heavy loads. In addition, such action of the bucket enables me to increase the forward reach of the bucket, as well as to increase the height to which the load may be elevated for lift arms of a given length. This third motion, or action, is also brought about by means of fluid motors or rams, separate and distinct from the rams which lift and tilt the load.

Another object of my invention is to provide a simple and effective hydraulic system for a loader having the structure and capabilities mentioned hereinbefore, and with separate controls for the three bucket actions, all assembled convenient to each other, as well as to the hand of the operator riding the vehicle, in such fashion that he has all functions of the loader completely under control at all times.

These and other more detailed and specific objects will be disclosed in the course of the following specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which- Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a vehicle mounted loader according to my present invention, illustrating the bucket 2,753,060 Patented July 3, 1956 thereof in a lowered position and showing the loading mechanism, per se, as mounted upon a special type of self-propelled vehicle, which itself forms the subject matter of a separate application.

Fig. 2 is a similar view but with a rear portion of the vehicle omitted and the bucket shown as moved forward by the crowding action previously described, and also as partially tilted rearward in order to maintain a load in place in the bucket.

Fig. 3 is still another side elevation, but showing the bucket as approaching its maximum height and as tilted forward in order to dump its contents.

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the loader and vehicle in the position shown in Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a schematic representation of one set of fluid motors or hydraulic rams and the related fluid and control system.

Referring now more particularly and by reference characters to the drawing, I have shown therein a loader, embodying my present invention, as mounted upon a heavy-duty, self-propelled vehicle, designated generally at A. The precise details of the construction of this vehicle are unimportant to the present disclosure, but it will be noted that it comprises a chassis frame B supported upon steerable front wheels C and rear, differentially-connected or oscillating wheels D. An engine housed in the rear portion E of the vehicle supplies power for traction and also, as material to the present invention, operates a pump F for supplying fluid under pressure for the actuation of the loader. In. addition, the vehicle has an operators station G convenient to .a steering wheel H, and controls for the various: rams used in the loader are also arranged conveniently to this station, as will be presently described.

For the accommodation of my improved loader, the vehicle is provided with heavy lateral hanger plates 10 between the wheels C and D at each side, and spaced outwardly from each such plate 10, but vertical and parallel thereto, is an upwardly tapering bracket plate 11. Connecting these assemblies, above the level of the vehicle frame B and immediately forward of the opelators position, is a heavy housing structure 121, from which there outwardly and laterally projects main pivot pins indicated at 13. The bracket plates 11 are further connected to the hanger plates 10, in proper spaced relation, by means of pins 14 and 15 at each side, located adjacent the lower end of these frame assemblies, and utilized, as will be presently described, for the mounting of certain of the fluid motors or rams. At each side I then provide lift arms 16 of heavy steel plate and which, at their rearwardly tapering ends 17, are provided with bearing collars 18, journaled upon the pins 13, so that the arms extend forwardly along opposite sides of the vehicle to a point beyond the front wheels C. The forward extremities 19 of these lift arms 16 are also tapered and are connected by a cross tube 20 rigidly welded in place. A similar cross tube 21 joins the lift arms adjacent their rear ends, and these elements 2021 act as torque tubes to rigidly cross brace and connect the lift arms to swing as a unit, while providing great resistance or rams, designated generally at 22, and used one at each side of the machine. Each ram 22 comprises a cylinder 23 pivotally mounted at its lower end upon the aforesaid pin 14, and projecting upward and forward from this cylinder is a plunger 24 pivotally connected at 25 to brackets secured to the lower edges of the lift arm 16, forward of said pivot 13. The rams 22 thus angle upwardly and forwardly, and it will be readily appreciated that the admission of fluid to the cylinders 22 to project the plungers 24 will result in upward swinging motions of the lift arms, as indicated in Fig. 3, while the admission of fluid to the opposite ends of the rams will swing the arms downwardly. As stated, these are double-acting rams, so that the loader bucket may be forced downwardly as is necessary in many of its digging and loading operations. The manner in which fluid is brought to the rams 22 will be described in detail hereinafter.

For convenience in this disclosure, I have shown the loader as equipped with a material handling bucket, designated generally at 26, but the actual working element will, of course, vary with other uses to which the loader is to be put. As described in my previous patent, provision is made for the convenient mounting of bulldozer blades, fork lift arms and cranes, and many other types of working elements. As here shown, the bucket 26 has rearwardly extending attaching lugs 27 near its lower rear edge, and these are detachably pinned at 28 to the lower end of heavy reach bars 29 connected by a torque tube 29*. In the down position of the bucket illustrated in Fig. 1, these reach bars 29 hang substantially vertically from between the forward ends of the lift arms 16, and the rear edges of the reach bars are provided with bearings 30, by means of which they are pivotally mounted upon a heavy cross pin or rock shaft 31 which connects the lift arms 16 at their lower edges and rearward of the forward torque tube 20. This mounting obviously provides for forward and rearward swinging movements of the lower ends of the reach bars 29 about the axis of the shaft 31, and such movements are independent of the up and down motions of the lift arms 16. The reach bars 29 extend upwardly some distance above the shaft 31 and above the level of the torque tube 20. These upper'ends of the reach bars are then provided with pins 32 to which are pivoted the forward bifurcated ends of actuator links 33, and these links extend rearwardly inside the lift arm assembly to points well forward of the lift arm pivots 13. Brackets 34 are Welded to the upper edges of the lift arms 16 and carry pivot pins 35 from which are swingably mounted shorter actuating links 36, the extremities of which are pivoted by means 37 to the rear ends of the links 33. The links 36 are also rigidly cross connected by a tube 38 to swing as a unit about the pins 35, and this assembly thus operates as a toggle linkage, connecting the upper ends of the reach bars 29 to the lift arm assembly. At each side the junction of the links 33-36 is pivotally connected to the plunger 39 of a double-acting fluid motor or ram, designated generally at 40, and the cylinders 41, in which the plungers 39 operate, are connected at forward ends by pins 42 to lugs 43 welded to the forward cross tube 26. In the normal, partially folded position of the toggle link mechanism, the reach bars 29 hang substantially vertical and the bucket 26, or other working element attached to these bars, is thus supported very close to the front end of the vehicle. The admission of fluid to the cylinder 40. to project the plunger 39 rearwardly will swing the links 36 in a corresponding direction at their lower ends, thus exerting a pull upon the links 33 such as to rock the reach bars 29 about their pivots 31, so that these bars move forwardly and upwardly at their lower ends. The opposite admission of fluid to the cylinder 41 will, of course, reverse these motions, and here again the manner in which the fluid is supplied to the rams will be later described in detail.

It is, of course, necessary to regulate the tilt angle of the bucket 26 about the axis of its connections 28 with the reach bars 29, and for this purpose I show the bucket as provided with brackets 44 upon its upper rear portions. These brackets 44 carry pins 45 by means of which tilting links 46 are pivotally connected to the bucket, and these links extend upwardly outside of the forward ends of the lift arms 16 when the bucket is in its down position, as illustrated in Fig. 1. At their upper ends the tilting links 46 are then pivoted at 47 between tilting rockers 43, each of which comprises a pair of spaced plates rigidly connected and journaled by a hearing 49 upon the purposely laterally projected ends of the aforesaid shaft 31. Between its upper and lower ends each rocker 48 is pivotally connected at 50 to the forward end of a connecting link 51 which extends rearwardly above the lift arm 16 at each side ofthe machine to points above the main pivot pins 13. Oscillatably mounted upon these pins 13, between the hanger and bucket plates 1tl-11, are main rocker members 52 of triangular shape, as clearly shown in the drawing. At each side of the machine the main rocker member 52 comprises a pair of rigidly connected plates, suitably provided with bearings for mounting upon the pin 13, and at the upper corner the rocker is connected by a pin 53 to the rear end of the corresponding link 51. The remaining corner of each rocker 52 is then provided with a pin 54 for an attachment of the plunger 55 of a double-acting fluid motor or tilting ram, designated generally at 56. This ram is located to the rear of the corresponding main ram 22, and the cylinder 57 is pivotally supported at its lower end upon the remaining pin 15 hereinbefore referred to. This arrangement is obviously such that the admission of fluid to the tilting ram cylinders 57 to project the plungers 55 upward will swing the rockers 48-52 rearward at their upper ends, and this motion is such as to tilt the bucket 26 upward at its forward edge. The reverse admission of fluid to the cylinders will, of course, operate this link-rocker assembly in such fashion as to tip the forward edge of the bucket downward to its dumping position of Fig. 3 so as to dump the contents of the bucket.

Stops 58 are secured on the sides of the lift arms 16 to engage the rockers 48 and limit the rearward tilting movement of the bucket.

It will be noted that the upper ends of the reach bars 29 may engage the torque tube 20 to take the rearward strain on the bars as the bucket 26, or other device, is forced into a load, thus freeing the hydraulic elements, linkage, etc., of these strains.

The hydraulic system for the various actuating elements of the loading mechanism is shown schematically in Fig. 5, wherein it will be noted that the pump F, previously referred to, is shown and is connected by an intake line 59 to a fluid supply reservoir 60. The output side of the pump F is then connected by a line 61 to a valve block or housing 62, and this assembly is mounted forward of the operators station and at a convenient position alongside the steering wheel H of the vehicle. The valve block includes three more or less conventional two-way valves, designated at 63, 64 and 65, respectively, 311 of which have a common supply connection to the line 61 from the pump. These valves 63-65 are individually operable by means of separate control handles 66, 67 and 68, which in the normal or neutral positions, as they are shown in Fig. 5, so adjust the valves that the fluid will idly recirculate by means of a return line 69 back to the reservoir 60. While the specific arrangement of the three valves is immaterial as far as the gist of the invention is concerned, as here shown the valve 63 controls the main lift rams 22, for which purpose the valve has separate lines 70 and 71 leading respectively to the upper and lower ends of the ram cylinders 23. The valve 64 is then arranged for the control of the tilting rams 56, for which purpose it has separate supply lines 72 and 73 leading to the upper and lower ends of the cylinders 57. The last valve 65 controls the flow of fluid to the rams 40 and has supply lines 74 and 75 leading to the front and rear ends of the cylinders 41. The various lines or conduits, of course, take the form of combinations of piping and flexible hose as is common with machines of this type, and while in Fig. 5 only one setof the rams is shown, it will, of course, be understood that the corresponding rams upon opposite sides of the machine will be connected in parallel so as to operate in unison upon the proper admission of fluid. In addition, in Fig. 5, l illustrate a second pump F adapted to be operated by the vehicle engine and having an intake connection 76 to the reservoir oil, as well as an outlet connection 77, fluid from which may be utilized for the operation of a booster (not shown) on the steering mechanism for the vehicle if the same is employed.

In the operation of the loader, assuming it to be in the position of Fig. 1, as a starting point, the operator may, by suitable manipulating the valve controls 66, 67 and 68, admit fluid to any one of the various sets of rams, or all of them together if so desired, the handles being so located as to permit their convenient selective or collective operation as clearly shown. Of particular importance in breaking out a load from frozen or hard packed material is the operation brought about by the rams 40, which may be manipulated to swing the reach bars 29 forwardly and upwardly toward or to the position illustrated in Fig. 2. This action crowds the bucket 26 forwardly with relatively tremendous force such as to thrust it into the load, and the action may further be facilitated by at the same time manipulating the control 67 for the tilting rams 56 so as to tilt the bucket 26 upward at its forward edge, as is also indicated in Fig. 2. In addition, as seen in Fig. 3, this forward projection of the reach bars 29 very materially increases the forward reach of the loader, when the lift bars 16 are swung upwardly for raising the load, so that the bucket may dump its contents into a truck or the like to maximum advan' tage. In Fig. 3 the tilting mechanism is also shown as manipulated in order to swing the bucket down at its forward edge so as to dump its contents as will be understood. Thus it will be apparent that the flexibility of load movement, provided by the three distinct actions afforded by the crowding, raising and tilting motions, makes the loader widely adaptable to all types of work and, in combination with the very rugged, sturdy construction, furthermore makes the loader adaptable to very heavy work.

The various leverage employed by the movements of the crowding, lifting and tilting parts, in combination with the comparative sizes of the rams 22, 4t and 56, also brings about a desirable action such that the initial admission of fluid to the rams by the collective operation of the valve controls will bring about what I call a tiltthen-lift action similar to that disclosed in my patent No. 2,517,582. In addition, the various centers about which the tilting mechanism operates will provide a substantially self-leveling action of the bucket as it is elevated, so as to maintain the load in place, although in most cases the operator will, by virtue of the convenient control provided by the grouping of the valves, so adjust the tilting mechanism as to give the bucket a pronounced back ward tilt to minimize dumping and scattering of the load as it is elevated.

It is understood that suitable modifications may be made in the structure as disclosed, provided such modifications come within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. Having now therefore fully illustrated and described my invention, what I claim to be new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

l. A loader of the character described, comprising in combination, a frame and vertically movable lift members thereon, reach members pivotally suspended below their upper ends on the lift members for forward and rearward swinging movements at their outer ends, means for swinging the reach members, a load engaging member on the lower ends of the reach members, and a torque tube transversely connecting the lift members and lying forward of and in the path of the upper ends of the reach members to limit rearward movement of the lower ends thereof and take the thrust as the load engaging member is moved forwardly into a load.

2. A vehicular loader of the character described, comprising spaced lateral hanger plates, forwardly and rearwardly extending lift arms pivoted at rear ends to the u per portions of the hanger plates for up and down swinging movements at their forward ends, hydraulic rams connected between the lower portions of the hanger plates and the lift arms for swinging the latter up and down, reach members pivoted between their upper and lower ends at the forward ends of the lift arms for swinging movements in vertical and longitudinal planes, 9. work engaging member pivotally mounted upon the lower ends of the reach members, toggle links connected between the upper ends of the reach members and points on the lift arms rearwardly of their forward ends, hydraulic rams connected between the lift arms and said toggle links and acting therethrough to swing the reach members, tilting linkage connected to the work engaging member to tilt it about its connections to the reach members and said linkage extending rearwardly to a point adjacent to said hanger plates, and hydraulic rams connected between the rear of the tilting linkage and lower portions of said hanger plates.

3. in a vehicular loader of the character described, a vehicular frame, a longitudinally extending lift arm having front and rear pivots adjacent its front and rear ends, means pivotally supporting said rear pivot on said frame so that the lift arm may swing upwardly and downwardly at its forward end, a reach member fulcrumed between its ends on the front pivot of said lift arm, a work engaging member pivotally attached to one end of the reach member, pivotally connected toggle links connected between the opposite end of said reach member and the lift arm, front and rear rocker members pivotally mounted upon the said front and rear pivots of the lift arm, a link connecting the rocker members together to move as a unit and another link connecting the front rocker member to the work engaging member to tilt the latter with respect tosaid reach member, and separate fluid actuated means for swinging the lift arm upwardly and downwardly, for operating the toggle links to move said reach member about its fulcrum, and to rock said rocker members.

4. In a vehicular loader of the character described, spaced parallel lift arms, means for pivotally supporting one end of said lift arms on a vehicle so that the other ends of the lift arms may swing upwardly and clownwardly at one end of the vehicle, spaced parallel reach members pivoted on the free end of said lift arms and normally positioned generally vertically, a load carrier member pivotally attached at its lower portion to the lower ends of said reach members, a first power actuated means operatively connected between said reach members and said lift arms, a first rocker member pivotally mounted adjacent to the ends of said lift arms opposite the ends to which the said reach members are connected, a second rocker member pivotally mounted upon said lift arms adjacent to the ends thereof connected to said reach members, links connecting said first and second rocker members together to move as a unit, link means connecting said second rocker member to said load carrier member at its upper portion to tilt the latter with respect to said reach members, a second power actuated means operatively connected to said lift arms for swinging said lift arms upwardly and downwardly, and a third power actuated means operatively connected to said first rocker to rock said rocker member and in turn said load carrier member.

(References on following page) References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Pilch Apr. 10, 1951 French Oct. 3, 1922 5 Carlesimo Jan. 25, 1938 Williams July 6, 1943 Shinn Jan. 4, 1944 8 Cramer May 17, 1949 Anthony Nov. 22, 1949 Lull Ang. 8, 1950 Andersen Jan. 9, 1951 Westall July 17, 1951 McNamara July 15, 1952 Reese Feb. 9, 1954 

